Obama’s abrupt cancellation of the refugee status granted to Cubans under the “Wet foot – Dry foot” policy established in the 90’s has left a large number of Cubans stranded in Mexico and other countries.

Those stranded in Mexico find themselves trapped in a dangerous limbo, in which they are prey to criminals and in constant danger of extortion, kidnapping, and all other sorts of abuse.

The telephones at the Siglo XXI used for international calls are public so it is unclear how numbers dialed can be extracted. But at least three relatives of different migrants interviewed said they had received similar calls in which alleged officials asked them for money in exchange for their relatives’ freedom. None of the three agreed to pay and the exchange did not go long enough to discuss specific dollar figures.
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An official of the INM confirmed to el Nuevo Herald on Monday that there are 90 Cubans detained at the Siglo XXI. Of these, 59 requested protection before a judge and 23 sought refuge from the Mexican authorities. The remaining eight are awaiting a decision of the Cuban Embassy in that country. If Havana deems the Cubans as citizens, they must be deported according to the migratory agreements between both nations.

Asked about the alleged disappearance of three migrants from the detention center — identified as Armando Daniel Tejeda, Daniel Benet Báez and Yosvany Leyva Velázquez — the Mexican immigration official said the trio escaped and therefore were not considered “missing.”

“Two of them had sought refuge and one had a hearing scheduled before a judge,” the official said. “They all fled and the corresponding authorities were informed.”

Other migrants at Siglo XXI, who realized the three were missing and got no answers on their whereabouts, launched a short-lived protest inside the facility that was violently silenced by authorities, migrants said.

An unidentified gunman burst into the studios of a radio station in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday morning and opened fire, killing a producer and a broadcaster live on air and seriously wounding a secretary.

Marchers demanded “respect” and “dignity” from Trump and his government, with an estimated 20,000 people pouring onto the streets of Mexico City, with students from the capital’s UNAM state university joining in protest for the first time since 1968, when dozens were killed and injured in demonstrations. Among the intellectuals at the march were Enrique Graue, Enrique Krauze, Héctor Aguilar Camín, and Enrique Ochoa, presidents of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).

Mexico’s ruling class has ignored the plight of the rest of the country for as long as Mexico has been a country, and I include the period where Mexico was under the French. I have said before, for decades Mexico has not even protected its own citizens from the cartels’ deadly human trafficking business; Jason Poblete writes,

Mexico and other Central American nations need to get serious about border security within their region, as well as fixing the primary reason people try to leave: poverty and lack of economic opportunities, as well as rampant corruption and crime, lack of rule of law, among many other indicators that make life tough in these countries. This latter issue is a more long-term issue (one that the U.S. companies can help with), but border security within Central America can start today.

Our anguish at Trump ought to be an opportunity, and, rather than continue riding this mass hysteria, let’s change our attitudes, let’s focus on identifying this chance that the event presents, and which we are not seeing. We are enraged that Trump threatens to deport millions of our countrymen. Let’s identify the real problem. Why did those millions were expelled by Mexico? Trump wants to build a wall. How come tons of drugs cross the border each year? Why are millions of young girls kidnapped by the same mafias who, after getting them across illegally sell them to the sex traders? Why has the border become a war zone where weapons and illegal money are exchanged, and even ISIS members are crossing?

Mexico had a major role in fostering guerrilla groups in Central America during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, backing off only when it became a hindrance to the NAFTA deal with the United States, and when some of the groups began operating in Mexico. Mexico is feared and resented throughout Central America as a bully and for its mistreatment of Central American migrants. The horror stories these migrants tell of their passage through Mexico are hair-raising and heartbreaking.

Only 4.5% of reported crimes in Mexico are ever investigated and just 1% ever go before a judge, according to a recent study by Mexico’s National Autonomous University. The criminal conviction rate in Mexico is 1.8%.

Thousands took to Mexico City’s central thoroughfare to protest U.S. President Donald Trump and his plans to build a 2,000-mile border wall, while also blasting Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and the ruling PRI party.

Again: Respect is earned. When Mexico and the Central American countries stop seeing the U.S. as a pressure-release valve for their own countries’ problems, they won’t need to be asking for respect, they will be earning it.

One confidential intelligence document obtained by CNN links Venezuela’s new Vice President Tareck El Aissami to 173 Venezuelan passports and ID’s that were issued to individuals from the Middle East, including people connected to the terrorist group Hezbollah.

But they were left fearing for their lives when the lobby roof at Sol Rio De Luna y Mares Hotel, in Cuba, suddenly buckled and collapsed – trapping them underneath and injuring many members of the wedding party, including the bride.

The decision to walk off the job is raising concerns in Chile about the strike’s impact on the economy, which was already posting weak growth. The economy expanded 1.2% in December, as mining activity contracted 3%, the central bank said Monday. Escondida accounts for about 19% of Chile’s production of copper, the country’s top export earner.

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Labor disputes have flared up in Chile’s mining sector over the past year as worker demands conflict with company efforts to cut costs by reducing benefits and laying off employees due to low commodity prices.

Undoubtedly, the strike may raise copper prices in the short term. the real question is, what effect will the strike have on Chile’s weak economy, especially if it drags on, since

Escondida accounts for about 19% of Chile’s production of copper, the country’s top export earner.